Monterchi, The Monastery of San Benedetto

Hamlet hosts imposing historical treasure

According to tradition, in the year 1000, this Benedictine monastery was once a hospice for pilgrims and the sick. It later became a convent for Camaldolese nuns before being handed over to Benedictine nuns from the Cassinese area. The first documents that refer to this building date back to 1525. By 1616, the doors of the convent were opened to house young scholars. During the Barberino war of 1643, the monastery was almost razed to the ground and the nuns had to take refuge within the castle walls.

Until a few years ago, the Benedictines ran a nursery school and school for embroidery. The architectural structure has a massive rectangular base and it has been reconstructed with various reinforcements. The complex lies along the road leading to Lippiano and Monte Santa Maria Tiberina. In opens into a porch and a large garden with a central well, surrounded by a wall with niches.

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